The Robson Chambers papers span 4 linear feet and date from 1946 to 1981. The collection contains correspondence regarding
architectural projects and employment at the University of California Santa Barbara, newspaper clippings, greeting cards,
Chambers’ business cards, black-and-white photographs shot by Julius Shulman of the Chambers’ residence in Palm Springs, a
three-ring binder of color photographs of Chambers’ residential projects, architectural drawings and reprographic copies of
houses Chambers’ designed in Palm Springs, as well as his personal residence designed in Borrego Springs, California.

Background

Robson Cole Chambers was born in Los Angeles on March 4, 1919. He attended the University of Southern California and in 1941
graduated with his Bachelor of Architecture degree. During WWII, Chambers helped design Camp Pendleton in Oceanside during
his service in the US Marine Corps. In 1946, Robson began working for John Porter Clark and Albert Frey at their Palm Springs
office. Six years later, Chambers became a partner and the firm was renamed Clark, Frey, & Chambers. Once Chambers joined
the firm, Clark, Frey, & Chambers took on their largest project to date, the Palm Springs City Hall. In 1956, Clark left the
firm, leaving Frey & Chambers. Six years later in 1966, Chambers left Palm Springs for a job at University of California Santa
Barbara, where he worked as the campus architect into the early 1980s. Robson Cole Chambers died in 1999, at the age of 80.

Extent

4.0 Linear feet
(1 record storage box, 1 flat file folder)

Availability

Partially processed collection, open for use by qualified researchers.